Dann campaign expenditures raise questions

Friday

May 30, 2008 at 12:01 AMMay 31, 2008 at 11:13 AM

Former Attorney General Marc Dann is being ordered to explain thousands of dollars in unorthodox campaign expenditures, including tickets for a concert by rapper Ludacris, $16,309 in cell-phone service for his law firm, bicycle rentals and payments apparently for his home gas and water bills.

Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner's office yesterday also called on Dann, who resigned under pressure on May 14, to repay his campaign $33,524.76 for security equipment installed at his home in Liberty Township near Youngstown.

Dozens of undocumented expenditures for airfare, hotel rooms, gifts, lawn and pool care, and Ohio State University football tickets — plus numerous cash reimbursements — turned up in the routine, annual audit by Brunner's office. However, the audit cannot be completed until the questions are resolved.

A letter to Dann's campaign by J. Curtis Mayhew, Brunner's campaign-finance director, referenced a section of Ohio campaign-finance law that “expressly prohibits use of campaign funds for personal or business benefit of the candidate or any other person.”

Dann and his wife, Alyssa Lenhoff, declined to comment yesterday. Lenhoff is listed as Dann's deputy campaign treasurer. The other deputy treasurer, Mary Beth Snyder, did not return calls for comment.

Dann's former treasurer, Bruce Lev, who resigned in April, declined to comment in detail.

“It's a very hard thing for me to deal with because I wasn't a part of any of this,” Lev said.

The secretary of state's office cited several undocumented campaign reimbursements to Dann and others from Dann back to his committee. The office added that the committee “must ensure that the value of all personal or otherwise inappropriate expenses has been fully reimbursed by the beneficiary back to the committee.”

Kevin Kidder, a spokesman for Brunner, said the office routinely questions items on campaign-finance reports.

Although there was no mention in the audit letter of the possibility of criminal penalties for violations, election-law or ethics violations could be referred to the Ohio Ethics Commission and to Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien.

Former Gov. Bob Taft, whom Dann attacked during his 2006 campaign for attorney general, was convicted of four misdemeanor violations for not disclosing golf games and other gifts on his annual ethics statements.

Among the citations issued by Brunner:

$6,189.66 spent on payments for a campaign vehicle that might have been used expressly by Dann. At the same time, the campaign reimbursed the state $4,534.93 for campaign use of another state vehicle.

Expenditure of $5,187.67 for rooms at the Best Western Clarmont Inn in Columbus, at the same time the campaign was paying $2,715.16 over three months for the Dublin-area condo that Dann shared with Leo Jennings III, his communication director, and Anthony Gutierrez, head of his general services division. Jennings and Gutierrez have been fired.

Expenses totaling $979.70 for a facility fee, food and beverages for a Ludacris concert on April 5, 2007, in Youngstown. The campaign listed it as a fundraiser, but the secretary of state noted, “The report does not reflect any contributions received as a result of this event.”

More than $5,000 spent on a trip to California, including some expenses reported up to three days after Dann and his party checked out of the hotel. Also included: rental bicycles at $25 a day.

Payments of $52.92 to Trumbull City Water & Sewer and $50.68 to Dominion East Ohio Gas, apparently for his home.

A $1,179.32 reimbursement for Dann by his campaign for lawn work, cleaning and pool work in connection with a “Turkish Bath Party” at his home.

A $10,000 expenditure to Joey Langston of Boonville, Miss. It was listed as a returned donation from Langston, a prominent lawyer who pleaded guilty this year to improperly trying to influence a judge.

Although the scandal that felled Dann had to do with sexual harassment, mismanagement and cronyism, investigators reportedly are honing in on expenses from his campaign fund.

Yesterday's letter came as two key administrators in the attorney general's office announced their resignations.

Stephanie Bostos Demers, the human-resources director who had a central role in dealing with the harassment complaints, is leaving July 11.

Michael W. Deemer, whom Dann promoted to deputy first assistant attorney general two months ago, is joining the staff of Gov. Ted Strickland.